Secrets and Lies

Phoebe wasn't kidding when she said it was a big file. In fact I worried at first there was too much, that it would take us a week just to review it all.

It opened with a police report written by a Detective Sean Fraser, covering all the facts regarding Corporal MacDonald's suicide back in October. That was accompanied by a very thorough coroner's report by a Dr. Malcolm Shaw, based at Raigmore Hospital in Inverness. The military added their own report on the subject as well, which included MacDonald's complete service record.

Then there was an enormous police docket regarding the recent mass shooting, along with more coroners' reports by Dr. Shaw and his staff for each of the fatalities. Survivors' medical reports were also in there, and most of those were prepared by a Dr. James McNeil. The docket even contained background information on just about everyone involved, with some very detailed information on the MacDonald family in particular.

Fortunately the army added a summary of the whole thing, penned by a Dr. Hugh Reeves. Apparently he'd been Grace's assistant when she was studying the Anomaly, and after she came to work with LIES he'd been promoted to take over her position.

Finally there were two more summaries of the summary, one from Dr. Bishop and the other from Dr. Goodland. The first gave us Grace's thoughts and opinions on the whole situation, while the second contained Ava's professional psychological take on the case.

Feebs and I ended up spending the rest of the morning sitting side by side on the sofa in our room, with my laptop perched on my knees but angled so the two of us could read it together. And while there simply wasn't time to read everything from start to finish we did review all the details from David MacDonald's suicide. Even though the recent tragedy was arguably more important, we figured if this was Anomaly-related then it made more sense to focus on the original incident first.

We mostly skimmed the rest of the files, but that still left us a lot of material to get through. Fortunately my years with Met helped there. It meant I was already familiar with the way the various documents were formatted, so I knew where to look for the most pertinent information. And for me, one of the most important questions I wanted answered was where the weapons came from. Not so much in the father's case, as a soldier I assumed he'd have access to firearms. However there was no way his fifteen year old son should have been able to get his hands on anything of the sort.

In all the two of us spent a few hours working our way through the dossier. From the summaries to police and coroners reports, medical and military reports to background checks, and back to summaries again, it wasn't until early afternoon when we were finally ready to give Dr. Bishop a call. And when we did she got both Owen and Ava on the line as well.

"Phoebe and I have spent the past few hours reviewing the files," I began once everyone was ready. "It's a terrible tragedy, but as far as we can see there's nothing to suggest any supernatural cause or involvement."

Grace responded, "There's nothing that rules it out either. And it's extremely out of character, for both Corporal MacDonald and his son."

Phoebe pointed out, "Some people do a very good job of hiding their depression. Sometimes folks can even be suicidal without anyone close even knowing there's a problem."

Something in the redhead's tone made me feel a pang of worry, that she may have been speaking from personal experience. Meanwhile the conversation was still going on so for now I let that go and focused on Dr. Goodland's voice.

"She's got a point," the ponygirl agreed with Feebs. "And we know that the corporal's actions were premeditated. You don't sneak a couple firearms and boxes of ammunition off base on a random whim, that's a career-ending move if you get caught. He was obviously planning something before he departed on leave."

According to the dossier Corporal MacDonald left his military base in Oxfordshire on the twenty-fifth of September for three weeks of leave. And it was well known he'd planned to spend the entire time with his family. So everyone who knew him was very surprised when he ended his life on the fourth of October with his own service rifle, in the backyard of the house he'd bought for his wife and son.

The police report also noted that when they searched the corporal's body they found three more fully loaded magazines in his pockets. He basically had enough firepower on him to take out a little hamlet or raze a shopping mall, although in the end he only used a single bullet.

Unfortunately the same couldn't be said for his son Gordon. He'd used a semi-automatic handgun, which was also traced back to his father's military base. Apparently when his father went on leave he brought both firearms along with several magazines and boxes of bullets with him. Somehow the police missed the handgun when they searched the house, and it ended up in the teen's hands two months later when he took it to church.

"It still doesn't add up," Dr. Bishop stated. "If David meant to take his own life then why would he need two weapons and all that ammunition? And why didn't he leave a note? Same with Gordon, they haven't been able to figure out a motive yet."

I reached for my laptop as I frowned, "I'm sure I saw reference to a note at the first scene."

"Here it is," I added a moment later. "Ok it was only two words, but Corporal MacDonald wrote that he was sorry before he shot himself."

Grace argued, "'I'm sorry' scratched into the ground with the barrel of his rifle hardly counts as a note. It can't even be confirmed that David's the one who wrote it."

Phoebe asked, "If he didn't then who did? Unless you're thinking the kid bumped off his own father then staged it to look like a suicide. He's the one who found the body, right? So maybe he found the weapons his dad brought home, did in his old man, then stashed the pistol for later?"

"The son couldn't have killed him," I stated. "The coroner's report was very clear, time of death occurred while the boy was still in school. Plus all the forensic evidence pointed to suicide. Angle of the shot, residue on the corporal's hands, position of the body, and the 'note' such as it was."

Everyone was quiet for the next few seconds, before Dr. Bishop finally spoke up again. "The bottom line is the British Army has officially asked LIES to investigate the incident. Phoebe, Trillium, can I rely on you two to meet with General Walcott in Inverness?"

My partner took a deep breath then nodded, "Aye. We'll go to Inverness. But not today."

"I'm sorry Owen, Grace," she continued. "It's two bloody days before xmas and I've already promised my father I'd be here for the holidays. Trillium and I will be in Inverness no later than noon on Friday."

Owen commented, "I still can't believe you're there in the first place. Is everything alright?"

"Not really," Feebs replied.

"Dr. Bishop I trust your military friends will understand?" I added when it became clear Phoebe wasn't going to elaborate. "Maybe they'll be able to take the opportunity to spend time with their own families as well."

Then I asked, "Is there anything else LIES can do in the meantime? What about Emma, any chance she might be able to glean some more details with her Sight?"

"It's far too late to get anything useful from Corporal MacDonald," Owen answered. "There's almost nothing left for Emma to work with. Especially since the corporal's remains were cremated back in October, in accordance with his family's wishes."

Dr. Bishop added, "Hugh Reeves is having some samples from the church incident rushed to us. They should arrive this afternoon, so with luck Emma may have additional information later today."

That was about it for the call, there weren't any other suggestions or questions so we left it at that. Owen said either he or Grace would contact us if anything else came up, Feebs and I agreed to do the same. Otherwise we'd be heading directly from Aberdeen to Inverness as soon as we could get away Friday morning.

Feebs and I bid our colleagues good day and wished them happy holidays, then we ended the call. I tucked my laptop away again, and the two of us left the guest room to go and find her parents so she could let them know we'd be staying the full four days like she promised.

We located Mrs. Campbell first, although it was entirely possible Phoebe knew where to find her mother since we didn't seem to spend a lot of time searching. We found the older woman in a modest-sized room towards the back corner of the building. There were more bookcases on two of the walls, while the other two were mostly comprised of large windows overlooking the property, including a nice garden in the back yard. Or rather, it was probably very nice the rest of the year. At the moment everything was too cold and too wet for flowers out there.

The two of us quietly approached Mrs. Campbell, who was seated in one of a half-dozen large comfy chairs. She had a blanket wrapped around her shoulders and a book in her hand, but she lowered it and looked up when she realized we were there.

"Hello mum. Sorry for interrupting," Feebs apologized.

Her mother smiled, "Not at all. Please, make yourselves comfortable."

"I take it you've finished looking over that work you mentioned?" she added as her smile faded. "Does that mean you have to rush away again already?"

The two of us sat next to each other, in a pair of chairs opposite Moira. Then Phoebe shook her head, "They asked, but we told them no. We didn't see anything in the file to suggest a magical or supernatural threat. We'll go have a closer look on Friday, but I doubt there's anything about the case that involves us."

"I'm glad for that," her mother responded as her smile returned. Her tone was bittersweet though as she commented, "It'll be so nice to have everyone here for the holidays, even if it is the last time."

A moment later she added, "Oh! I don't know if you've heard, but your sister's bringing someone too. I believe he's another doctor, one of the people Katriona works with at the hospital. She texted earlier to say they're on their way. Duncan's going to pick them up at the airport later, they should be here in time for supper tonight."

"Ah," Phoebe nodded slowly. Then she shook her head, "I didn't know Katie'd met anyone. Last I heard she was too focused on her career to think about dating, let alone getting serious with someone. Then again I suppose it's been about five years since she and I last had a good talk."

Mrs. Campbell frowned, "I hope that will change going forward. It always bothered me that you stayed so far away from the rest of the family. And that you never seemed to get on with either your brother or your sister."

"Aye," the cute redhead sighed. "Hopefully Katie won't be as bad as Duncan about accepting the new me."

Her mother replied sadly, "Me too Phoebe. I would love to see all three of you get along for a change."

"How about you Trillium?" Mrs. Campbell asked as she turned her attention to me. "I hope your family gets along much better than ours does? Oh, will they be upset that you're not joining them for the holidays this year?"

I grimaced slightly as I shook my head, "I had a bit of a falling-out with my aunt and uncle a few months ago. I might try and call them on Wednesday, but that's about it. Honestly I'm happy Phoebe invited me to join her here."

The older woman looked confused as she asked, "What of your parents? Or do you have any siblings?"

"No ma'am," I sighed as I mentally kicked myself for being too specific and leaving the door open for further questions. "My parents have both passed."

"Oh I'm so sorry," Mrs. Campbell responded with a sad compassionate look.

By that point Feebs could probably tell how much I wanted that topic to end so she jumped in and changed the subject, "D'you suppose Tril and I could maybe borrow a car? We spent all last week on a case, then all weekend travelling. So neither of us have had a chance to visit any shops lately, and I know there's some things we both need to pick up."

Her mother nodded, "Of course Phoebe. It's probably best if you take my hybrid? I know your brother will want the Rover when he goes to collect your sister. You still remember where we keep the keys, don't you? Please try and be back in time for dinner though."

"Thanks mom," Feebs smiled as she got to her feet.

The cute redhead moved closer and leaned down to give her mother a hug, while I quietly stood up as well. Then we both excused ourselves before heading upstairs to our room, to grab our jackets and purses.

Phoebe led me back downstairs then through yet another part of the huge house, to a multi-car garage located towards the rear corner of the building. There we found a second big luxury SUV, a large luxury sedan, and a more modest-sized but equally posh hybrid which would be our ride for the afternoon. Feebs climbed in behind the wheel while I settled into the passenger seat, then she hit the button for the automatic door opener and we were off.

The drive back into Aberdeen didn't take long, and being daytime I got to see a little more of the scenery and the city along the way. We ran into some heavier traffic when we reached the downtown area, but I figured that was typical everywhere. Especially considering it was mid-afternoon on the twenty-third of December.

We found a place to park near Union Square and the train station, then the two of us spent about an hour visiting shops in the mall. Eventually we headed outside and spent another hour or two touring more shops around the city centre. Not that we were buying all that much, from what I could see Feebs was mostly looking for small token gifts for her family. As for me, the only thing I really wanted to find was a present for my cute subby partner.

In all we spent about three and a half hours in the city, before we both decided we'd had enough of the retail experience. It was dark again by then, and a cold wind was blowing some small snowflakes around which helped convince us it was time to call it a day. Plus I'd managed to pick up a few things, as did Phoebe, so it seemed like we were both satisfied with the outing.

It was just after six in the evening when we returned to her huge family home, and our timing turned out to be perfect. We were upstairs in the guest room putting away our purchases when we heard a woman's voice calling out a loud greeting from just inside the front doors.

"That's Katie," Feebs sighed. "I suppose that means it's time for another round of awkward introductions."

I gave her a supportive look and reminded her, "Things seemed to work out alright with your parents so far. Hopefully it'll go ok with your sister too."

She nodded slowly, "Aye. May as well go get this over with."

The two of us headed back out of our room then made our way down the hallway towards the big curving staircase. Feebs paused when we reached the top of the stairs though, and stared down at the couple who were both waiting in the big entry hall.

The one on the left was obviously her sister. Katie looked to be about my height, with a slimmer build. She had shoulder length red hair, an attractive face with fair skin and some light freckles, and green eyes. There was also a definite family resemblance between her and my partner, especially in the shape of her eyes and her cheekbones.

The man standing next to her was the epitome of tall dark and handsome. He had to be over a hundred and ninety centimetres, in fact I was positive he was taller than Duncan. He looked to be about the same age as Feebs' brother too, somewhere in his mid-forties. There was no trace of middle-age spread on him, if anything I'd almost say he had a runner's physique. He wore his black hair in a short professional style, and his strong jaw was clean-shaved.

Finally I noted that both of them were dressed business-casual, which would fit in with the rest of the Campbell family. It seemed like Phoebe and I were the only ones who preferred casual wear. Katie wore a long tartan skirt and a white blouse under a wool coat, while her friend was in dark slacks and a button-down shirt under a winter jacket.

"Oh my goodness!" Katie suddenly exclaimed when she noticed my partner and I standing at the top of the staircase. She had a distinct Scots accent, but it wasn't as thick as the rest of her family. The young woman's eyes remained fixed on my partner as she asked, "Is that really you?! You look so young!"

Feebs cringed slightly but nodded, "Hello Katie. Aye, it's me. The name's Phoebe now, she-her pronouns."

"And this is Trillium Sharpe," she added as she gestured to me. "She's my friend, partner, and colleague. And Tril, that's my sister Katriona, but we all call her Katie."

It took a few seconds for the older redhead to get over her surprise, then her expression shifted to a wide smile. "It's a pleasure to meet the real you, Phoebe. And nice to meet you as well Trillium."

"This is Esau Murumbi," she added as she put an arm around her friend's waist, "My fiancée."